The Uncanny X-Men #213
The story starts out narrated by Psylocke as she telepathically scans the mansion and its grounds, amplified by Cerebro. She contacts Rogue, who is flying patrols, then looks in on Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty. She can't even detect a flicker of awareness from Nightcrawler. Colossus's thoughts are like "a field of glowing, golden sun." Kitty is in a containment unit, her molocules drifting slowly apart. She scans the New Mutants' rooms, thinking them dead, and thinks about how Cipher loves her "more deeply and truly than he knows" and she wonders how she feels. (This is the first appearance of Psylocke's butterfly effect, where her telepathy is matched with a shape on her face that is butterfly-like, with the wings being over her eyes, and another shape appearing where her telepathy is directed. I'm not sure if Alan Davis or Chris Claremont had the idea.)
In the Morlock tunnels, Wolverine says that the plasma blast that went through wiped everything out so thoroughly that he can't even detect any faint scents. Callisto is very angry since all evidence of the Morlock's old existence has been wiped out. It is pointed out that while Storm and Callisto were tussling the night before, a lightning storm was appearing overhead, and Storm wonders if she subconsciously created the destruction in the tunnels. Magneto refuses to believe that the New Mutants are dead. He says that the Hellfire Club invited him to join as the White King and wonders if he should accept. Storm is against it, but Callisto says that they need help. Psylocke contacts them, saying she wants to use Cerebro to scan for the New Mutants, but the others think it would be too much strain for her, and they want her to continue scanning the area around the mansion. Wolverine tells Storm that they could use her power, but Storm says she doesn't want to make any more mistakes. At the mansion Psylocke detects a stranger entering the grounds, but when she tries to scan further, she is knocked out by a backlash. (I think Cerebro should be able to just scan mutants, based on how it was used in the past, but Chris Claremont didn't use it that way.)
In Los Angeles, Dazzler is walking the streets, miserable in her dark-haired, conservatively-dressed disguise as a member of Lila Cheney's band. Her reflection turn to her old costume and long hair and says that she deserves to be a star and shouldn't be hiding out. She goes for it and gets a makeover, now blonde again and dressed flashily, saying she's Dazzler and it's time the world knew it. At the mansion Rogue is on the ground, thinking about how nice it is to care about others. Sabretooth grabs her from out of the bushes and smashes her through a tree, then punches her through a large boulder, then punches her out. He holds her up, saying, "You dead!" (Chris Claremont always wrote Sabretooth as MUCH stronger than anyone else did, and this scene pretty much underlines that. He does not kill the unconscious Rogue, and it's unclear why...)
In the mansion, Psylocke recovers, saying the stranger's mind was so hostile it overwhelmed her powers, amplified by Cerebro as they were. She goes to alert the X-Men, but Sabretooth comes up behind her and rips Cerebro's main computer banks open with his claws. Psylocke psycho blasts him into some more machinery and flees. Her arm was wounded from Sabretooth's attack. He comes barreling through the door after her and she leads him upstairs, taunting him. Moira MacTaggart and Nurse Friedlander realize that she is leading him away from the wounded Morlocks, buying their lives with her own. In a bedroom, Psylocke throws a weight at Sabretooth, but he just catches it and wads it up and throws it back at her. She is trying to get out a window, and the weight smashes through it for her. She climbs to the roof, and Sabretooth follows. He slashes at her, hitting her leg and causing her to fall through the skylight of Storm's loft.
Sabretooth finally gets ahold of her and prepares to bite her throat out. Wolverine shows up and challenges him, but Sabretooth says he intends to finish Psylocke off first. Storm blindsides him with her short staff, tagging him between the eyes, then tripping him when he lunges at her. Wolverine extends his claws, preparing to fight, but Sabretooth jumps over him, raking him across the back. He licks off the blood saying, "Tasty, runt -- as always." They clash and Wolverine sinks his claws into Sabretooth's thigh to the knuckle, and Sabretooth tosses him up through another skylight. He follows and Wolverine tackles him off the roof. The two fall into the swimming pool, falling through and destroying both diving boards.
Magneto shows up in Storm's loft and shapes a broken metal table into manacles for Sabretooth. Psylocke says that if they let them continue to fight, she can scan his brain, while he's too distracted to block her out. Storm and Magneto agree. By the pool, Wolverine and Sabretooth continue to go at it. Psylocke scans his brain and sees a much younger Wolverine broken and bloody on a snowscape and she also sees the Marauders and their shadowy master. The two fighters come to a cliff, where Magneto, Rogue, and Callisto are approaching. Psylocke informs Wolverine that she has all she needs, and Wolverine says that while he kept Sabretooth busy, Pyslocke "tapped your teeny, tiny mind." Even Sabretooth knows better than to fight Magneto, and jumps off the cliff. Wolverine jumps after him, cutting out his throat on the way down. Rogue flies down and gets him, but there is no sign of Sabretooth. Psylocke has determined that the Marauders will keep coming after the X-Men and Morlocks until their dead, or the X-Men get them first. Wolverine says that they can't fight back while they're covering the wounded, and Storm says they should be moved to Muir Isle. Wolverine says he owes Pyslocke an apology for thinking she was soft. She appears in a costume, now a member of the X-Men! The end! (Well, the team is now Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, and Psylocke. Almost the smallest the team ever gets! As an aside, Psylocke's costume really sucks!)
Overview: One of those issues that is more valuable than the adjoining issues, and it's worth it, because this is one great comic book. Alan Davis does the art -- one of two regular Uncanny X-Men issues he does -- and it's very good. He really shows Sabretooth's size and ferocity, especially showing how he towers over Wolverine. (Sabretooth is 6' 10" and Wolverine is 5' 3".) The action is very clear throughout. Unfortunately, Alan felt intimidated by X-Men and didn't become the regular penciler, and we go through a few more temps before we arrive at the next regular: Marc Silvestri.
So the mutant massacre is over, but next I'll cover what went on in X-Factor and the other tie-ins. Then it's off to get Dazzler and Havok. And then only one person can save Kitty: Mister Fantastic. But he refuses, so they must turn to the next best thing: Doctor Doom?!
In the Morlock tunnels, Wolverine says that the plasma blast that went through wiped everything out so thoroughly that he can't even detect any faint scents. Callisto is very angry since all evidence of the Morlock's old existence has been wiped out. It is pointed out that while Storm and Callisto were tussling the night before, a lightning storm was appearing overhead, and Storm wonders if she subconsciously created the destruction in the tunnels. Magneto refuses to believe that the New Mutants are dead. He says that the Hellfire Club invited him to join as the White King and wonders if he should accept. Storm is against it, but Callisto says that they need help. Psylocke contacts them, saying she wants to use Cerebro to scan for the New Mutants, but the others think it would be too much strain for her, and they want her to continue scanning the area around the mansion. Wolverine tells Storm that they could use her power, but Storm says she doesn't want to make any more mistakes. At the mansion Psylocke detects a stranger entering the grounds, but when she tries to scan further, she is knocked out by a backlash. (I think Cerebro should be able to just scan mutants, based on how it was used in the past, but Chris Claremont didn't use it that way.)
In Los Angeles, Dazzler is walking the streets, miserable in her dark-haired, conservatively-dressed disguise as a member of Lila Cheney's band. Her reflection turn to her old costume and long hair and says that she deserves to be a star and shouldn't be hiding out. She goes for it and gets a makeover, now blonde again and dressed flashily, saying she's Dazzler and it's time the world knew it. At the mansion Rogue is on the ground, thinking about how nice it is to care about others. Sabretooth grabs her from out of the bushes and smashes her through a tree, then punches her through a large boulder, then punches her out. He holds her up, saying, "You dead!" (Chris Claremont always wrote Sabretooth as MUCH stronger than anyone else did, and this scene pretty much underlines that. He does not kill the unconscious Rogue, and it's unclear why...)
In the mansion, Psylocke recovers, saying the stranger's mind was so hostile it overwhelmed her powers, amplified by Cerebro as they were. She goes to alert the X-Men, but Sabretooth comes up behind her and rips Cerebro's main computer banks open with his claws. Psylocke psycho blasts him into some more machinery and flees. Her arm was wounded from Sabretooth's attack. He comes barreling through the door after her and she leads him upstairs, taunting him. Moira MacTaggart and Nurse Friedlander realize that she is leading him away from the wounded Morlocks, buying their lives with her own. In a bedroom, Psylocke throws a weight at Sabretooth, but he just catches it and wads it up and throws it back at her. She is trying to get out a window, and the weight smashes through it for her. She climbs to the roof, and Sabretooth follows. He slashes at her, hitting her leg and causing her to fall through the skylight of Storm's loft.
Sabretooth finally gets ahold of her and prepares to bite her throat out. Wolverine shows up and challenges him, but Sabretooth says he intends to finish Psylocke off first. Storm blindsides him with her short staff, tagging him between the eyes, then tripping him when he lunges at her. Wolverine extends his claws, preparing to fight, but Sabretooth jumps over him, raking him across the back. He licks off the blood saying, "Tasty, runt -- as always." They clash and Wolverine sinks his claws into Sabretooth's thigh to the knuckle, and Sabretooth tosses him up through another skylight. He follows and Wolverine tackles him off the roof. The two fall into the swimming pool, falling through and destroying both diving boards.
Magneto shows up in Storm's loft and shapes a broken metal table into manacles for Sabretooth. Psylocke says that if they let them continue to fight, she can scan his brain, while he's too distracted to block her out. Storm and Magneto agree. By the pool, Wolverine and Sabretooth continue to go at it. Psylocke scans his brain and sees a much younger Wolverine broken and bloody on a snowscape and she also sees the Marauders and their shadowy master. The two fighters come to a cliff, where Magneto, Rogue, and Callisto are approaching. Psylocke informs Wolverine that she has all she needs, and Wolverine says that while he kept Sabretooth busy, Pyslocke "tapped your teeny, tiny mind." Even Sabretooth knows better than to fight Magneto, and jumps off the cliff. Wolverine jumps after him, cutting out his throat on the way down. Rogue flies down and gets him, but there is no sign of Sabretooth. Psylocke has determined that the Marauders will keep coming after the X-Men and Morlocks until their dead, or the X-Men get them first. Wolverine says that they can't fight back while they're covering the wounded, and Storm says they should be moved to Muir Isle. Wolverine says he owes Pyslocke an apology for thinking she was soft. She appears in a costume, now a member of the X-Men! The end! (Well, the team is now Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, and Psylocke. Almost the smallest the team ever gets! As an aside, Psylocke's costume really sucks!)
Overview: One of those issues that is more valuable than the adjoining issues, and it's worth it, because this is one great comic book. Alan Davis does the art -- one of two regular Uncanny X-Men issues he does -- and it's very good. He really shows Sabretooth's size and ferocity, especially showing how he towers over Wolverine. (Sabretooth is 6' 10" and Wolverine is 5' 3".) The action is very clear throughout. Unfortunately, Alan felt intimidated by X-Men and didn't become the regular penciler, and we go through a few more temps before we arrive at the next regular: Marc Silvestri.
So the mutant massacre is over, but next I'll cover what went on in X-Factor and the other tie-ins. Then it's off to get Dazzler and Havok. And then only one person can save Kitty: Mister Fantastic. But he refuses, so they must turn to the next best thing: Doctor Doom?!